A wide variety of agricultural implements may be used to prepare soil for planting. One such implement is a harrow. As is generally known, harrows may be configured to be towed behind a work vehicle, such as tractor, to level soil after it has been tilled by, e.g., a cultivator. Level soil promotes uniform planting depth and uniform germination. More specifically, harrows typically include a plurality of ground engaging elements, such as tines or spikes, that extend downward from a frame of the harrow. These ground engaging elements may be configured to penetrate the soil to a particular depth. The amount of down pressure exerted on the ground engaging elements control the depth of soil penetration.
Excessively high or low down pressure on the ground engaging elements may hinder the operation of the harrow. For instance, soil and/or debris may build up in front of the ground engaging elements as the harrow is towed by the work vehicle. This buildup may undesirably decrease the down pressure on the ground engaging elements. Excessively low down pressure may prevent the ground engaging elements from penetrating the soil to a sufficient depth, thereby hindering the leveling process. Conversely, towing the harrow at high rate of speed may undesirably increase the down pressure on the ground engaging elements. In such instances, the ground engaging elements may hop, skip, or otherwise disengage from the soil, thereby leaving areas of the soil that have not been leveled. Furthermore, hopping and skipping may cause unnecessary wear and/or damage to the ground engaging elements and/or other components of the harrow.
Accordingly, an improved system for adjusting down pressure loads on the ground engaging elements of a harrow of an agricultural implement would be welcomed in the technology.